Pages

Meet the new Transporter. And the new star car in “Transporter 4 Refueled.”

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Known
to the French Riviera’s criminal underworld as the best driver money can buy,
soft-spoken Frank Martin (Ed Skrein) will deliver any “package” for a price in
“Transporter 4 Refueled.” He abides by three simple rules: no names, no
questions and no renegotiations. But his rulebook goes out the window when he
is tricked by gorgeous femme-fatale Anna (Loan Chabanol) into driving the
getaway car for an ingenious bank robbery. Racing through the streets of Monaco
in a state-of-the-art Audi, Frank unwittingly becomes entangled in a scheme to
bring down Yuri (Yuri Kolokolnikov), the Russian human trafficker who forced
Anna into prostitution 15 years ago.

The
Transporter series has set a high bar for action adventure, having delivered
some of the most memorable action packed sequences in the genre. Director
Camille Delamarre voices confidence that the latest installment, with its new
leading man, revenge-fueled women, brutal street-fighting brawls and
metal-bending chase sequences, will more than exceed audience expectations.
“The Transporter Refueled is more than a reboot,” he says. “It’s a whole new
story.”

As
for the new Transporter himself, Ed Skrein takes unabashed pride in his
character’s journey through the mean streets of southern France. “Rolling
around on the floor wrestling and fighting with bamboo sticks and punching
other guys with pads on and fighting in front of a moving car—the only time you
want to be in situations like that is when you’re on a film set,” he says. “I’m
a complete pacifist myself, but when it’s scripted that I get in a fight and
win, it’s fantastic.”

“The
Transporter Refueled” was shot largely on location in Monaco and other parts of
the French Riviera between Nice and Menton. To capture the picturesque Côte
d’Azur’s sun-dappled setting, Delamarre brought on Canadian director of
photography Christophe Collette.

Although
it features fresh faces and a new storyline, Refueled features plenty of the
heart-pounding car chases that have made the Transporter franchise an enduring
favorite among fans around the world. “I admit that I have a weakness for
cars,” says Delamarre, who filmed dozens of car-chase sequences and car
commercials before taking the helm of The Transporter Refueled. “When Michel
Julienne staged the car scenes, we gave the big car wrecks everything we had,
starting with the first sequence that takes place between Nice and Monaco.”

Delamarre’s
team put together computer-generated 3-D pre-visualizations to determine the
best camera placements before shooting key car chases. “We wanted to make sure
we got ‘wow’ shots,” he says. But Delamarre insisted on old-school “in camera”
action to maximize the impact of the film’s big set pieces. “I avoided using
too much CGI because I really wanted crumpled metal. Sure, we could create that
CGI, but it wouldn’t have the same violence as a real car crash. We purposely
crashed dozens and dozens of cars for the film because I wanted to provide
truly sensational visual impact.”

Skrein
became very fond of the Audi S8 2012 sedan that was his near-constant companion
during filming. “It’s a very beautiful car and a joy to drive,” says Skrein.
“The only problem was that the Audi has such an intelligent computer in the
engine that it won’t skid or do anything other than be completely safe. The
stunt drivers had to take bits out of the Audi in order to make things happen
the way they wanted.”

Before
Skrein got a chance to drive the car during production, he took a crash course
in high-speed auto racing. “The initial driving training we did was like a
boy’s dream,” he says. “They sent me out into an airfield and asked me to drive
as fast as possible in this beautiful car that cost $175,000. I learned small
details that turned out to be extremely important, like how to position my
hands on the steering wheel. Then we got into the stunt car and did the
spinning, which was really fun.”

Skrein
put his newly acquired driving skills to the test on the second day of
shooting. “I had to race around a corner, skid, jump out of the car and do the
dialogue,” he recalls. “I was driving a brand-new car that had a couple of very
expensive cameras rigged up on either side. So I was very cautious for the
first take. Then Camille came over and said, ‘Go for it this time.’ So I did
and it felt great. I slammed on the brake and there was dust flying up
everywhere. It was brilliant! So I got back in the car feeling like a million
dollars and thought, ‘Let’s do that again’ and sped up even bit more. Except
this time, I smashed one of the cameras.”

“Transporter
4 Refueled” opens this September 2 in cinemas from Pioneer Films.